newfdog (2022-2023)

Took a year off, some random stuff during school, couple internships, nothing special:

Academic:
-Strong upward GPA trend (from ~2.9 first 2 years to ~3.95 last 2 years, which covered 90-odd credit hours); won a pre-law academy award for top student, plus a couple other intra-university academic prizes
-Hard to judge LOR's without seeing them, but I feel confident all 4 were very laudatory--1 from thesis advisor, 2 from pre-law program, 1 from supervising attorney.

Volunteer:
-Some time on the university paper as a staff writer, couple years of volunteer experience at various animal-related non-profits. No leadership positions or volunteer legal experience.

Work:
-Worked summers in oddball jobs--factory worker, English tutor, etc.; interned at a local boutique firm for the summer immediately after graduation; private LSAT tutor during the rest of the year off. Spent most of it saving to travel/traveling.

I received deferred adjudication for aggravated assault (2nd degree felony) as a freshman in college. I wrote an addendum about the event and completing my sentence; it also mentioned other things I did on my own (learning to meditate, taking in a dog, picking up an interest in philosophy of ethics). Personal statement talked about my experience in the penal system, obstacles it introduced, and the ensuing personal growth from overcoming the system. I hope my profile is useful for others who've brushed up with the law (my cycle from last year: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/crackedscreen ). Just having a record doesn't mean you can't still get into law school (although you should definitely check the Bar C&F standards for where you want to practice--UT, MS, OR, and a couple others have lifetime bans).

-All fee waivers are merit-based
-Wrote the optional essays for the T14's

1/26--E-mail from Berkeley letting me know that I've been passed on to faculty review.

1/28--Held for further review at Penn.

2/16--Got the call from Dean Tom. Holy mother of the flying spaghetti monster.

3/8--Scholly offer from CU: $12k/4/4, with a 2.9 GPA stipulation.

3/19-In at USC via e-mail for admitted students website (status checker went "Decision Finalized" on 3/15). Letter received on 3/21. Going to hang on to it for a bit on the off chance they're willing to offer significant $.